Creating an Out of Office auto response in cPanel

Thelma R 20 Jul, 2026 cPanel, Email

When you’re away from your inbox whether for vacation, holidays, or business travel, setting up an out-of-office autoresponse ensures that anyone who contacts you knows when to expect a reply and who to reach in your absence.

What Is an Autoresponder?

An autoresponder is an automatic email reply that informs senders you’re unavailable. It typically includes:

• The dates you’ll be away
• When you’ll return
• Alternative contacts (if applicable)

Steps to Set Up an Autoresponder in cPanel

1. Log in to your cPanel account

• Use the login details provided when your hosting account was created.
• If you’ve lost access, contact www.jolt.co.uk/support/ for assistance.

2. Navigate to the ‘Autoresponders’ section

• You’ll find this under the Email category on the cPanel dashboard.

3. Click Add Autoresponder

4. Fill out the autoresponder form

• Interval: Set to 24 to avoid sending multiple replies to the same sender within a day.
• Email: Choose the email address you want to set the autoresponse for.
• From: Your name or department.
• Subject: Example: “Out of Office: [Your Name]”
• Body: Write a clear message;
  
  “Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office with limited access to email until [Return Date].
  For urgent matters, please contact [Alternative Contact Name/Email]. Otherwise, I will respond to your message upon my return.”
• Start / Stop: You can leave this as Immediately and Never, or choose Custom to schedule the exact dates and times you want the autoresponder to automatically turn on and off.

Step 5: Save your changes

• Scroll to the bottom and click the Create/Modify button.

That’s it! Your out-of-office responder is now active and will handle incoming emails while you are away.